“My Dublin Is Resilient” – The Ger Prendergast Story #ThisIsMyDublin

It was a childhood spent boxing. Teenage years were occupied playing futsal. In adulthood, it escalated to become completing 52 Ironman races in 52 weeks and preparing for the world’s longest triathlon consisting of a 50-kilometre swim, 4,500-kilometre cycle across America and a 500-kilometre run through the Death Valley, California.

Ger Prendergast’s is
a life less ordinary.

His journey is a remarkable one. The Ballymun native started
out seeking a new challenge and ended up targeting world records. Along the way
he blitzed the field in the DecaUK Ironman Ultra Endurance Race and completed that
monster Ironman challenge.

His father was responsible for the first gym ever set up in
Ballymun and it is there, alongside his six brothers and sisters, where a
lifelong relationship with sport would commence. St Paul’s Boxing gym played
host to the community, but Prendergast was only ever able to train due to a
childhood accident.

“I was unlucky early on. I got an injury when I was eight, a
stick in the left eye which left me half-blind and I was unable to box competitively.
All my brothers were competitive boxers so it was unfortunate at the time.

“I still boxed and trained in the gym with my brothers, but
my interest turned to soccer.”

Futsal became his game and much like he would later with
running, he excelled. Due to his visual impairment and ability Prendergast qualified
for the Republic of Ireland Futsal team. Some time later, he began dabbling in
11 a side football but it never quite clicked.

“It wasn’t the same with the eye and not having a background
in it from an early age, I never really had it explained where I position
myself on the pitch and that. So, I started doing a bit of running. I was still
involved in the gym and football and I had decent fitness. I was 31 or 32 at
this stage.

“I found I was half
decent at it, I started with a 5k, then a 10k. The natural progression is a half
marathon. Then I did my first marathon.

“it went really well. I really enjoyed the running at this
stage.

“I started looking for bigger challenges. I saw these things
called duathlons; running, cycling and running again. I was aware of triathlons,
but I couldn’t swim. I did a few duathlons and quickly realised a bigger
challenge would be a triathlon, so I bite the bullet and got a lesson off a guy
in swimming. You just have to fully commit, that’s what I did.”

This ignited a fire that needed to be constantly feed. With
every step forward Ger Prendergast set his sights higher again. Within a year
he completed a full Ironman, made up of a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bicycle
ride and a marathon 26.22-mile run. Then ultra-races. Soon it became 24-hour
adventure races; running, cycling, kayaking, swimming. Racing from one coast of
Ireland to the other until eventually, the stakes were upped again.

“I was always trying to find that next challenge. I was
online looking for something in 2017 and came across this thing in England
called the UK ‘Deca’ Ironman. Ten Ironmans, one every day for ten consecutive
days. That blew my mind, I wasn’t sure if it was even possible or if I would be
able to do it.

“There was an option to do five in five days but I couldn’t
turn down the opportunity of at least trying to do ten. I had a feeling I might
be able to do five but ten seemed way out there. That is what I wanted; I
wanted a challenge that I was not sure if I was able to do.”

After the first day he finished last. There was no panic,
this was quite literally more than a marathon and certainly not a sprint. Step-by-step,
he kept going. That process paid off. In the end he finished four and a half
hours clear of his nearest competitor.

The Dubliner takes a moment when asked the obvious question,
why? Why put yourself through such gruelling competition and mammoth length
races?

The answer is as clear an insight into the power of sport
and its everyday importance as you will find.

“I discovered my mental strength was my best asset. I really
relished the fact everything was on me. When you are doing an individual sport,
there is no excuses. You can’t blame your goalkeeper, your defenders or your
forwards. Everything is about you. I knew if I needed to get better, I had to
do everything in my power. Training, nutrition, getting out for a session, it
is all on you.

“For me, I really relished everything being on me. No
excuses. Being out there on my own.”

Upon winning the Deca Ironman, there was a joyous welcome
awaiting in his hometown. One of their own was excelling on a world stage and
Ballymun wanted to mark that.

“I was getting little glimpses through the crew members
about the buzz in Ballymun and everyone being behind me, I got a real sense of
that when I came back. I was overwhelmed.

“I came back on a Saturday and I was brought up to where I
work in the sports hall in Ballymun. When I arrived, I knew something was up
because the car park was buzzing. There were hundreds of people there congratulating
me and cheering me for what we did.

“It was brilliant. I got a great sense of positivity in the
area. It gave people a real lift.”

It did not end there. Last year Prendergast finished 52
Ironmans over 52 weeks. At the same time, he raised €12,000 for Mental Health
Ireland, a noble nod to a family member who passed away by suicide during his
prep. His next target is breaking the world record of 41 Ironmans in 41 days
and the ultra-endurance race in America while continuing his fund-raising.

“The mental challenge is something I love, it is easy to say that is enough now today, but I relish trying to improve. I will keep going. I want to do more,” he says with a laugh. Overcoming bigger and better challenges, one step at a time.